Praxair gets $10 million from state for Tonawanda expansion

Praxair gets $10 million from state for Tonawanda expansion

July 22, 2014

Praxair is getting up to $10 million in incentives from New York State for its $38.7 million project to expand and modernize its technology center in the Town of Tonawanda.

Empire State Development said Tuesday it is offering Praxair the incentives to solidify a project that will create more than 22 new jobs and help retain the 1,111 positions at the Praxair Technology Center off Sheridan Drive.

The state has agreed to provide the industrial gas company with up to $8 million in tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program, along with a $2 million capital grant. The company will receive the incentives only if it meets its job-creation and investment targets, state officials said.

The company also is in line to receive a $500,000 grant from the New York Power Authority, using proceeds from the sale of unallocated hydropower from the Niagara Power Project. The $500,000 grant, which was recommended late last month by the Western New York Power Proceeds Allocation Board, is expected to be considered for approval by the Power Authority’s board of trustees later this month.

The project involves what state officials described as a “comprehensive facility upgrade” that will expand and modernize the technical, research and development functions of the Town of Tonawanda facility. The Town of Tonawanda site performs functions that range from global plant engineering and research and development to North American operations communications and global plant monitoring.

“Praxair’s expansion ensures a long-term commitment to the region and to the more than 1,000 employees in the Western New York community who work at the facility,” said Kenneth Adams, Empire State Development’s chief executive officer,.

The 22 new jobs that the project is expected to create will pay an average of $82,000 a year, Empire State Development officials have said.

The company’s expansion in the Town of Tonawanda comes at the same time that Praxair is expanding its Niagara Falls plant with a $12.5 million project that will expand its hydrogen production capacity. That project is expected to create eight new jobs, with an average salary of $78,000, at the Royal Avenue plant, which currently employs 89 workers.

The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency earlier this month approved $1.1 million in property-tax breaks, spread over a 15-year period, for the Royal Avenue project. The company also is receiving a $1 million grant from Empire State Development.